“Before I travelled to Australia, before I went into fight week and lived the situation that I lived so many times with my brother, but from the outside, I was thinking, ‘It will be a little but different,’” began Topuria, who carries a four-fight winning streak into his clash with Almakhan on Saturday. “But when I was there, it was like, ‘I was here so many times.’
“I enjoyed it more than when Ilia fights, because like I said, there is a little more attention; I must be concentrating with my brother, so when I’m in my fight week, I enjoy it more,” he added with a smile. “The only bad thing is the weight cut. If there is no weight cut, it’s just a usual week: you train, you eat, you rest, and repeat, and then Saturday evening, you have a fight. It’s nice. It’s good.
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“I learned that I must enjoy it more,” he said when asked about the lessons drawn from his first experience as a UFC fighter. “I enjoyed it, but I must enjoy more. Before, there was a little more — not pressure, but questions. I know there is still a lot to do, still a lot of questions, but right now, I feel a little more comfortable, more free; I’m enjoying it more than last time, so I learned you have to enjoy anything you do.
“There is always pressure, there are always questions, there is always doubt, but you must enjoy; truly, you must enjoy.”
